Judging by the training camp roster, it looks like the Griffs are going to rely a lot more on prospects and youth this year.

Brunnstrom, Minard and Conner were the veteran forwards last year with some NHL experience replaced by Triston Grant (more of a grinder/goon) with only 8 games NHL experience.

Janik and Exelby were the vets on D last year with some NHL experience replaced by Natahan Paetsch.

I don't think there are any other vets listed in the training camp roster. Either they are still going to sign some or are going to give the youngsters more responsibility. It's going to be interesting to see how they do.

Goaltending will be a key. MacDonald is gone and there isn't a vet replacement for him. I don't think McCollum has ever looked good since being drafted by the Wings unless he had a powerhouse team in front of him. He was terrible in the WJC and terrible in the playoffs for the Battalion when the competition got stiffer. I found that Pierce looked good whenever he was the designated starter for a stretch but wasn't good as a backup (if they have a game log for that you will see this is very accurate and I wonder if it's an anomaly or if he doesn't like sitting). Mrazek is an unknown as a professional but he certainly has the ability and competitive edge and goalies younger than him have come in and got the job done in the NHL. I think Mrazek will come in and win the starting job and possibly contend for rookie of the year and give them the best goaltending they have had in years. Hopefully Jurco can also contend for rookie of the year. They are younger than rookies coming out of college so it would be very impressive for either of them to do so

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fsd is showing 6 preseason pistons games and there is no ahl game to be seen on my directv guide

Bulls*** if true, but understandable if they put it to a vote on their site since most people don't care about hockey, only we do. Most people in this country only care about basketball, football, nascar, etc.

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I hate how in Michigan there doesn't seem to be very many casual hockey fans. It's either people that post on hockey message boards during a lookout or bust. Kind of silly if you ask me.....all else pales in comparison to hockey. I wish Michigan had the same passion that Canadian teams have. we Do, it's just significantly smaller, I'd say. Maybe it just seems that way because hockey gets crap for coverage on local radio/tv for the most part.

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I hate how in Michigan there doesn't seem to be very many casual hockey fans. It's either people that post on hockey message boards during a lookout or bust. Kind of silly if you ask me.....all else pales in comparison to hockey. I wish Michigan had the same passion that Canadian teams have. we Do, it's just significantly smaller, I'd say. Maybe it just seems that way because hockey gets crap for coverage on local radio/tv for the most part.

Yeah, it's very strange. For the amount of huge amount of pro/minor/junior/college hockey that Michigan has....the large amount of kids playing youth hockey...and the relatively long history of hockey in the state...it still gets left behind by the other three sports. I don't think this was true during the 90s/early 00s, but it seems like it now (although I don't live there anymore).

One thing that you may overlook, though, is that Michigan has a very blue-collar way of looking at things. So, if there is a lockout like there is now, and people see greed as one of the main issues, they will dump it pretty quickly.

That said, it is still a bit surprising that a hockey state like Michigan can't manage to muster enough to get AHL on cable tv.

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I hate how in Michigan there doesn't seem to be very many casual hockey fans. It's either people that post on hockey message boards during a lookout or bust. Kind of silly if you ask me.....all else pales in comparison to hockey. I wish Michigan had the same passion that Canadian teams have. we Do, it's just significantly smaller, I'd say. Maybe it just seems that way because hockey gets crap for coverage on local radio/tv for the most part.

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That said, it is still a bit surprising that a hockey state like Michigan can't manage to muster enough to get AHL on cable tv.

Not really.

If you put it to a vote between minor league hockey and NBA basketball, I don't care what state or city it is in the US, NBA will win the vote 10 times out of 10.

Then you add in the fact that anyone could vote, and it is guaranteed to be a landslide victory for the NBA. People all over are fans of the Pistons. Most people in the states, even hockey fans, have never heard of the Griffins.

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